TOPIC:

Running her down the highway at about 60 just cruising around 4500 or so and this deathly sound started. I was close to home so i brought her home, after she cooled down i pulled the plugs to see if i through a rod but they all seem ok. Oil is good and i never got an oil light. Sound is a high tick that speeds up with the rpms. Any ideas?

Did the sound's frequency follow crank or valves?
Did it change on acceleration/deceleration?
Chain or perhaps wheel bearings? - this would follow speed but not RPM and/or change due to cornering (bearing thust).

Off the top. I wanna say it's likely related to valves, cam chain because you didn't mention anything about loss of power which a blown piston or connecting rod would have.
Could it perhaps be as simple as an exhaust leak developed?

Maybe some pics? Something might be obvious to someone here if they could see the engine from a few angles.

It knocks on the kickstand. Knock follows rpm. Definitely not exhaust. Did have a loss of power but seemed to be slight. I did not ride hard or very long after i heard the knocking. About 3 miles home. She does leak and burn oil on the regular. Trying to get a video on my phone on here but i cant figure how to change the format.

Sounds like a rod knock.
Steve

I had that on my 550, just that ticking increasing with rpm.

www.kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/599063-th...rell-s-gpz550#683153

It could be a lot of other things too. possibly valves or a cam.

Masshole, when was the last time the engine's valve shims were checked or adjusted?
How many miles are on the engine now?
Does the sound follow RPMs - literally - knocking sounds per minute OR is it more like clicking/ticking sounds per second? It's often hard to tell the difference but if you are able to isolate the sound pattern - by the single engine revolution or is it multiple times per engine revolution? The difference of course is valve train or crankshaft. If you are able to / willing to run the engine sitting there, you can use the old screwdriver-to-ear-stethoscope and try to pin-point where you hear it loudest - up in the head, down in the case and this may provide you with a better idea of what's up or down as it were.

The burning oil regularly could be rings but it may also be simple valve stem seals. Mileage on the odo would be a good indicator.

I guess, it needs to be opened up, one way or another since it's clearly engine and not transmission or simple bearings etc. Just would be nice to be expecting a specific area so at minimum, you could be prepared with parts or services needed.

To my knolage i would have to say that it was neber checked. I bought the bike last spring. The guages were both busted so i really dont know how many miles it has but i would say that it has a lot. She was in rough shape but for my first bike i went for it. I have a bit of a background as a shade tree mechanic but i never pulled apart a bike motor before. Im not afraid to turn a wrench i just do not know what im in for here. I love my bike and here in mass it is just starting to be riding season so any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Ill try to isolate the sound and guess from there. Im just not looking to dump a pile of money into a lots cause.

To my knowlege i would have to say that it was never checked. Also more of a clicking per second. I bought the bike last spring. The guages were both busted so i really dont know how many miles it has but i would say that it has a lot. She was in rough shape but for my first bike i went for it. I have a bit of a background as a shade tree mechanic but i never pulled apart a bike motor before. Im not afraid to turn a wrench i just do not know what im in for here. I love my bike and here in mass it is just starting to be riding season so any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Ill try to isolate the sound and guess from there. Im just not looking to dump a pile of money into a lots cause.

Pissed off my neighbor at 930pm but with a screwdriver i have to say it seams the loudest at the cam chain. Right on the bump where the chain and gears are.

Nice work!

So having given it a closer listen, do you think it's a crank/rod kinda' sound or a cam/chain/lifter/valve kinda' sound?

It seems more likely that it's valve related at this point from your descriptions and the repair is going to start with removing the fuel tank, slacking-off the cam chain tensioner and then removing valve cover to begin inspections.
The good news is to do these things isn't invasive to the bike and you won't have cost yourself anything beyond perhaps a new valve cover gasket if your existing one is crunchy old or broken during cover removal.

You will probably want to manually rotate the engine with the 17mm bolt under the ignition cover on the right side so you can set TDC for checking your valve clearances and inspecting the chain, idlers, camshaft gears and lobes etc.
You will need a couple or few feeler gauges in the range spec'd by your manual. I ended up following the "fit / not fit" method on my 550's engine.

Hopefully, you find it's just outta tune and needing valves adjusted which will cost you little in compare to top-end rebuild.

Do you have a shim kit yet?
If you are going to own a KZ for more than just days or hours, you may as well suck it up and just buy yourself a kit. It's only marginally more expensive than buying about 4 individual shims anyway and you'll have a set for the years to come or every 3k to 5k miles apparently.

I really cant tell what the sound is. Ill just have to get in there. I think that while im in there and cant ride anyway, ill buy a full gasket kit and see if i can slow down some of the leaks in the top end at least.

While i have somone with a clue about the right way of doing things, are cone air filters a bad idea? Im really not trying to get cheap performance, i just like the look. If i need to get the carbs jetted and all that i dont think i want to get into all that.